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Recently, we published court documents, newspaper articles, and magazine articles describing the zany tale of the transvestite homosexual murderer that William Branham supported on death row in Houston, Texas. After publishing, we started to receive questions as to whether or not Ayers, who took the infamous Houston Coliseum photograph, threatened to expose Branham as a fraud. "Why else would Branham have taken such a risk?" people asked.

In those articles, we pointed to the fact that Ashley was demoted to a minimum security facility after convincing a jury that he thought he was the return of "Elijah the Prophet." Reading through such a strange coincidence, we started receiving even more questions. Did Branham give Ashley a strategy towards a plea of insanity?

These are questions that may never be answered. Though the entire situation looks very suspicious, we do know one thing: Ashley was not converted to "The Message" after Branham's visit to Houston, and though claiming Christianity for a period of time after March 1963, the ultimate pathway chosen was not one the modern-day cult following of William Branham would support. After undergoing a sex-change operation and entering politics, it is said that Ashley became an atheist.

But there are even more strange coincidences to be found within this story. According to the Texas Secretary of State, the "Ashley-Ayers Evangelistic Association" was formed in May of 1964 -- before the plea bargain of insanity through the spirit of Elijah. Was this the end results of the fruits of Branham's labor? Did Branham create yet another Elijah prophet? Did Branham convince Ashley that his best chance at avoiding the electric chair was to become another crazy cult Elijah prophet, like the long line of "Elijah cult leaders" before him?

One might also examine the monetary aspect of this situation. Were funds flowing into this new organization to pay royalties for the photograph? We know that Branham was being less than truthful when he claimed that the photograph hung in a non-existent "Religious Hall of Art" -- it has never hung anywhere. Instead, it sits in a drawer in the Library of Congress, where all copyrighted materials are stored. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/95512174/

Again, these are questions we may never answer. All we know is that William Branham "saved" a homosexual transvestite from the electric chair, simply to promote a new "Elijah Prophet" that created a competing "Evangelistic Association" immediately before a plea arrangement. And that arrangement resulted in the escape of the transvestite, recorded in the FBI's top ten most wanted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI_Ten_Most_Wanted_Fugitives_by_year,_1965#Leslie_Douglas_Ashley

We've published the query through the Texas Secretary of State, and the articles of incorporation are on order. We hope to have them soon.